


Sweeter than Summertime

by LeChatRouge673



Series: Friendship February 2018 [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: friendship february 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 10:19:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13762041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeChatRouge673/pseuds/LeChatRouge673





	Sweeter than Summertime

_There's a wild, wild whisper_   
_Blowin' in the wind_   
_Callin' out my name like a long lost friend._

-“American Honey” by Lady Antebellum

 

* * *

 

“Nora… Nora, wake up.”

Anora grumbled against her pillow. There were exactly two people who could get into her personal rooms in the palace, and exactly one who was crazy enough to actually do it.

“Go. Away. The sun is not up yet, therefore _I_ should not be up yet.”

“Anora Rose Mac Tir, the sun is practically up and besides, I want to get an early start.” Thea stood at the foot of her bed, tapping her foot with delicate impatience and glaring at Anora, hands on her hips.

“Thea, why _exactly_ are we going _anywhere_ this early?” Anora yawned, but she pushed back the blankets and more or less stumbled out of bed and began reaching for clothes.

“I’m kidnapping you.”

Anora shook her head with a sigh. “Thea, first of all, you’re my best friend. You don’t have to kidnap me, although I am still waiting to hear why I am awake at this hour. Second, you are married to my father, so technically…”

“Don’t. Say. It.”

She turned so that Thea could not see the grin tugging at her lips as she reached into a drawer and pulled out a sleeveless blouse. “Do I need a sweater?” It was the height of summer, and the days had been almost unbearably hot, but who knew where Thea was dragging her off to.

“Throw a swimsuit on, and maybe grab a sweatshirt? Pack an overnight bag. We’re having a sleepover.”

“Thea, I can’t just leave for the night,” Anora protested, but Thea had already retrieved a small bag and was tossing items into it whilst cheerfully ignoring her.

“You can, and you are. Come on, Nora, when was the last time we did something fun like this?”

She paused, knotting the tie of her swimsuit top behind her and putting on her blouse. The long span of silence was all the answer Thea needed, and her friend looked unreasonably pleased with herself.

“Alright, you _might_ have a point,” Anora conceded. “That being said, I still cannot simply abandon my duties. In case you have forgotten, and the evidence is increasingly mounting that you have, I am still the queen of this country.”

“I have not forgotten,” Thea replied airily, accepting the toothbrush and toothpaste Anora handed over as she finished brushing her teeth, “I simply choose to selectively ignore the fact.”

Anora gave a small laugh. “Of course. I should probably go make sure I do not have any appointments…”

“Already taken care of,” Thea interrupted. “Your father is going to sit in your office today and do what he does best.”

“Glare at anyone who comes in until they decide it would be better to just wait until I return?”

“Exactly. Come on.” Thea tossed Anora her sun hat before she sauntered out of the room and started down the hall, leaving Anora to follow.

 

* * *

 

“This is not the worst idea you have ever had, Thea.”

They were lounging on oversized inner tubes on Lake Luthias, just down from Thea’s house she had built there last year. Anora knew that her father and Thea had spent quite a bit of time here, and they had invited her several times, but it was always so hard to tear herself away from work. She was not doing all that much more than when Cailan had still been alive, but that still left her running an entire country largely by herself. Which she was perfectly capable of, and for the most part enjoyed, but she was also always grateful that Thea and Loghain split their time fairly evenly between the capital and Gwaren. Their support meant more to her than she could ever say.

She took a sip of her beer. Good stuff, really. Thea was a hopeless snob when it came to such things, so Anora had never really doubted it would be. She just also honestly could not remember when she’d been able to just sit back and drink one.

“Yes, it turns out I have good ones every once in awhile,” her friend laughed, flicking her toes in Anora’s direction and sending droplets of water flying. Anora ducked her head, giggling.

“I am glad you ‘kidnapped’ me,” she admitted. “I ought to be better about taking time for myself, and I know it.”

“Yes, well,” Thea shrugged, “I was not much better until recently, when it was strongly suggested that I do so.”

“I still can’t believe you refuse to take any nonsense from me, but you will let my father boss you around,” she teased, and Thea lowered her sunglasses and looked at her with a single raised eyebrow.

“Oh don’t make me explain to you why he gets away with it.”

“Oh, ew, no!” Anora dipped her hand into the water and sent a splash of water at Thea, who shrieked but managed to maintain her balance and shot Anora a broad grin when she had righted herself.

“You are _so_ lucky I did not just lose my beer.”

“I am certain it would have been a tragedy,” Anora laughed. “You know, it is going to be dreadfully difficult to go home tomorrow. I can see why you and father love it up here.”

“We do,” Thea nodded, “And you really ought to come with us more often. But for now, let’s just enjoy it for what it is. Cat will drive up later and she made pizzas that we can just throw in the oven, and the three of us can stay up late watching stupid movies, stargazing, singing way too loudly around a campfire and otherwise forgetting that we have an inane amount of responsibilities waiting for us at home. Ok?”

Anora sank back with a long sigh of contentment, letting the bottle in her hand half float lazily in the water as she drifted.

“You know what, Thea? I am going to do exactly that. And tomorrow morning I am going to sleep in too late and eat far too much for breakfast, and when we get home I am going to take a long hard look at my schedule for the next three months and I am going to seriously re-evaluate the time I make for myself.”

Thea raised her own bottle in a toast.

“Now that, darling, is an _excellent_ idea.”


End file.
